Barangaroo Reserve

Do we really need another casino in Sydney? Do we really need more tall buildings in the city? Do the people in public housing at Miller’s Point really need to move? Although there are some parts of the Barangaroo development in Sydney which concern me, I was very impressed when Kate and I visited the space earlier today.

The official opening will be tomorrow, and of course, since it’s Sydney, there’ll be fireworks. So it was good to visit today, ahead of tomorrow, when many thousands of people will descend on the space to see what it’s like, and before it becomes the next “must do” thing for visitors to Sydney.

And why not? It’s really bloody impressive, though deceivingly simple. Put simply, they’ve built a new car park. But above that car park, they’ve created a wonderful reserve space where you can enjoy amazing views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Anzac Bridge, Darling Harbour and more.

But closer to the shoreline is where it becomes really amazing, with beautiful stone blocks right down to the water. “There are no signs that say you CAN’T swim here”, Kate noted as we sat on the rocks, enjoying the sunshine, and the wonderful, wonderful views.

Although it seems so many of the big decisions in Australia these days aren’t being made with a view to the future, only about the short-term, it’s wonderful to see this space remain open to the public.

Sorry to be so cynical but give the masses something palatable before the towers go up and the concrete is laid and the not so well off are kicked out. Odd that I have sympathy for people with addictions, smoking included, but not for gamblers. But gambling is and addiction it seems and here will be one more place where they can be fleeced.